Recovery
by youcrazything
Summary: Sequel to Mystery Girl. Luke and Grace continue to progress through their relationship as the science fair nears. Meanwhile, things with Grace’s mom must get worse before they can get better.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Recovery

By: Lisa Marie aka youcrazything

Spoilers: Anything up to "The Cat" and the prequel, Mystery Girl

Summary: Sequel to Mystery Girl. Luke and Grace continue to progress through their relationship as the science fair nears. Meanwhile, things with Grace's mom must get worse before they can get better.

A/N: Thanks to all the people who knew about this in advance and patiently waited on it. Enjoy!

* * *

Friedman looked up from searching through his locker to see his friend heading towards him. Luke had a smile on his face and looked a lot more lighthearted than he had been earlier that week. Friedman had a suspicion that the source of his friend's miserable demeanor throughout the week had been the one and only Grace Polk. However, it seemed that he was now over whatever funk he had been in. 

"Hey buddy," Friedman greeted him when he reached the lockers. "You seem a lot more cheerful today."

"I am," Luke proclaimed. "Everything is… just wonderful."

"Would I be wrong in assuming the source of your earlier frustration was a certain short, angry blonde?"

"No," Luke admitted, scratching his head. "You wouldn't be wrong."

Friedman only nodded, his suspicions now confirmed.

"Well, I'm glad you finally came to your senses, man. The girl digs chicks, it was sad to see you following her around like a lovesick pup."

"Now that you are wrong about," Luke announced, grinning widely. "Grace and I have been together since May." And damn, but did it feel good to finally be able to say that out loud.

Friedman stopped everything he was doing and stared at his friend. With a deep, painful breath, he slowly shook his head.

"Never thought I'd see the day when Luke Girardi became dillusional."

"What?" Luke asked, grin gone and an annoyed look taking its place. "I am not dillusional. Grace and I got together at the beginning of summer, but she wanted to keep it secret. Over the weekend, Joan and Adam found out, so now our relationship is out in the open. And then, yesterday afternoon-"

"Sure, buddy," Friedman, said, patting his shoulder in sympathy as he walked away.

Luke just stood there, looking after his friend in disbelief.

* * *

Grace was shaken from her mini trance when Judith and Joan suddenly appeared at either side of her in the hallway. 

"Hey Grace," Joan greeted her with a knowing smile. "Things are good now, huh?"

"Yeah," Grace answered, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Cool, coz I was planning on stealing your boyfriend to help us study tonight."

"Wait," Judith interrupted, surprised. "You have a boyfriend?"

Grace rolled her eyes, annoyed at the sudden attention that was being directed at her.

"Oh yeah," Joan said slyly. "Apparently Grace and Luke have been secret lovers since the summer."

"Luke? Your little brother, Luke?" Judith asked, shocked and amused all at once. She turned her attention back to Grace. "That's like something straight out of a soap opera."

Grace sped up slightly, wanting nothing more to escape to her locker. As they neared her locker, she saw that Luke was leaning against it, hands in his pockets and looking as cute as ever. He was obviously waiting for her, and her heart skipped a beat as she came up to him. He gave her a sweet little smile and she couldn't help but smile back before tackling her combination. She shoved her bag in her locker, slammed it shut and turned back around.

Judith had a knowing smirk on her face and was glancing back and forth between Grace and Luke. Rolling her eyes, Grace fell into step with Luke as they walked to his first class. Without warning, Judith came up behind them and squeezed up between them, wrapping her arms around each of their shoulders.

"It's like the perfect romantic story," she said, grinning cheerfully. "The last two people you would expect finding true love together."

Luke just stared at her blankly, not quite sure what to think of all this. Grace glanced to one side of her head where the offending arm protruded, then turned to glare at Judith as she went on about true love. When Judith took no notice to the icy stare, Grace grabbed the offending arm's sleeve with her thumb and forefinger and lifted it off of her shoulders. She quickly ducked under and drifted over to Luke's other side and far away from any more assault attempts. Judith looked a little taken aback and, after a few more seconds of glaring from Grace, dropped her arm from Luke's shoulders as well. Grace grabbed Luke by the arm and dragged him off in the other direction.

"It's cute really," Judith decided, looking after them as she and Joan continued to their class. "How possessive she is of him."

Joan just shrugged in response.

* * *

Later on in the Physics classroom before the bell, Luke was sitting with Friedman and Glynis waiting for class to start. Friedman was trying to enlist Glynis to help his "disillusioned" friend. 

"…He thinks that he and Polk are an item or something." Friedman was telling Glynis, pity evident in his voice. "Poor guy."

Glynis leaned forward to look past Friedman at Luke, who looked rather annoyed.

"That's because they are together," Glynis informed Friedman, giving Luke a small smile. Luke sat up straighter in his seat. He had almost forgotten that Glynis already knew. Grace had mentioned something about a confrontation, but he had been to preoccupied trying to soothe her sudden jealous streak to think too much about it.

"I saw them together," Glynis added when Friedman just looked at her blankly. Friedman slowly turned to face Luke, amazement written across his face.

"You converted Polk?" he questioned in wonder. "You are like a god! You have to tell me your secret."

"Friedman," Luke said in exasperation. "She was never, is not, and never will be a lesbian, okay?"

"How do you know for sure?" Friedman pressed.

"Trust me, I know," Luke insisted, realizing too late how loaded that statement sounded. Glynis looked at him, startled, while Friedman looked at him in awe.

"How far did you get with her, man?"

"That's really none of your business," Luke stated firmly, disgusted with his sex-crazed friend.

Joan and Adam walked into the classroom then, halting any further conversation on the topic. Adam headed back to his seat, but Joan dawdled near her brother's table.

"Hey, it's my favorite little brother," she said in a syrupy tone, obviously sucking up to him.

"What do you want?" he asked, well aware of her tactics.

"Join our study group tonight," she insisted, still in a falsely sweet tone. "We have that huge test on Monday and we could really use the smartest guy around to help us."

"Sure," Luke said dismissively. Studying for physics was as easy as breathing for him, so it wasn't that big of a favor. "I've been helping Grace study anyway."

"No fair," Joan pouted. "You're giving her unfair girlfriend advantages."

"Yup," Luke agreed without hesitation.

"What happened to sister privileges?"

"You still have them," Luke assured her. Joan smiled happily and wrapped her arms around his neck in a loose hug.

"Thanks, you're the best," she said before she released him.

"That'll last all of a day," Luke commented as she went back to her seat. Grace entered the room and plopped down in her seat with a sigh.

"You're coming over to my house tonight. Luke's gonna help us study," Joan told Grace after she sat. Luke turned in his chair to face them.

"We should probably work on the science fair project as well."

Joan snickered at this, earning a glare from Grace. Surprisingly, it was Adam who commented.

"There wasn't a lot of work going on last time, yo."

"Shut up, Rove," Grace shot back at him. Adam only smiled and went back to sketching in his notebook. Grace chose to ignore the peanut gallery and turned her attention to Luke.

"I'll look over the list you gave me and toss out the lame ideas," she promised, uncapping her pen to doodle in her notebook.

"Lame ideas?" Luke repeated, somewhat offended.

"What?" Grace asked, not seeing the big deal. "Not everything you do can be brilliant."

Deciding that she had complimented him more than insulted, Luke smiled and nodded, then turned back to the front of the room as the bell rang.

* * *

That night Grace, Adam, and Judith were over at the Girardi's getting ready to study. Joan was in Adam's lap and they were being extremely cuddly and disgustingly cute. Judith kept "aww"-ing and going on about how adorable they were while Luke simply ignored them and Grace controlled her urge to vomit. She watched with undisguised disgust as Adam whispered something in Joan's ear and she let out a girlish giggle. Grace turned to Luke. 

"Promise me if I ever make a sound like that, you'll put me out of my misery."

Luke smiled fondly at her and moved so that he could stroke her hand that was resting on the table.

"Promise."

Luke turned back to flipping through his notes, but continued to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. It was so subtle that the others probably hadn't noticed, but Grace found a strange sense of pleasure in not feeling like she had to hide. Maybe being out in the open with their relationship wasn't so bad after all. She smiled to herself and discreetly entwined her fingers with his.

Luke looked down at their joined hands, over at the others, then back at Grace. He looked pleased at her show of affection, but opted not to comment. Instead, he made sure he had everyone's attention and started going over the material in an efficient manner.

* * *

Later on, Judith, Adam, and Joan decided to watch a movie before the two guests would head home. Luke and Grace passed on the movie, deciding to go up to his room to work on their project instead. 

"Hey you two," Joan called out as they were about to go up the stairs. "Make sure to get some work done between making out."

Luke shook his head in amusement while Grace rolled her eyes. Neither responded as they turned to continue up to his room.

Once there, they managed to show some self-constraint by not attacking each other upon stepping into the room. Instead, they sat on Luke's bed to discuss the ideas.

"I circled the ones that I chose," Grace told Luke as she handed him her copy of the packet.

"Thirty ideas and only three were not 'lame'?" he asked her, a bit insulted.

"I was wrong," Grace admitted, shrugging. "They were all brilliant ideas. I just chose the ones that sounded the coolest."

Luke basked in what he was sure would be the closest thing to a compliment one could receive from Grace. He looked to see which of his ideas were deemed "cool" by Grace.

"Looks good," Luke amended with a nod of his head. "Do you want me to explain anything further?"

"Sure," Grace said, lying down on her side so that she was still facing him and her head was propped up on her hand.

Luke paused a moment before delving into an explanation on one of the projects, enjoying the way she never seemed bored with his long explanations. She just made herself comfortable and looked up at him expectantly.

"Contrary to what some may think, gravity isn't secluded to the earth alone," He informed her. She nodded slightly, a clear sign to him that he had her full attention. "Gravity affects everything. Say for example, if I were to try to measure the rate at which an apple falls from a tree. I could never get a true measurement because just by me being there, the apple would fall differently. It would be attracted towards me and fall at an angle, therefore effecting how it falls."

"So, you're saying that everything, even you and I, have some sort of gravitational pull?" Grace asked. Luke lay down on his side in front of her, mimicking her pose.

"Exactly what I'm saying. Everything has the same amount of gravitational pull, the only reason that objects fall and that we are grounded on the earth is because of its sheer mass."

"But wouldn't objects of the same mass be attracted to each other then?" Grace countered playfully, enjoying the fact that not only was Luke letting her be involved in his explanation, but that she could actually keep up with it. Luke smiled at her and rested his hand on her waist. Grace was suddenly aware of just how close he was laying to her. She had a sudden flashback to the last time they had collaborated on the science fair and the sexual tension that had inevitably come with it.

"Probably, if it weren't for the strength of the gravity of the earth pulling them down. But, yes, gravitational pull can still be observed between two objects. Which is where this project would come into play."

"Oh, I've already seen gravitational pull in action," Grace told him, flirtasiously laying a hand on his chest.

"Yeah?" Luke asked, looking down at her hand on him, then back up at her. "How's that?"

"Like this," Grace whispered as she leaned in slowly to kiss him.

"Definitely a pull there," he murmured to her, pulling back just enough so that she could hear him. She smiled as he returned his lips to hers to kiss her more fully.

* * *

After their movie was finished, Joan told the others that she was going to go upstairs to check on Luke and Grace. She reached Luke's door and knocked softly. She had learned her lesson about just barging into rooms throughout the past week. 

She frowned when she still received no response the third time she knocked. With a sigh she opened the door and hoped the reason they weren't answering wasn't because they were too wrapped up in each other. She cautiously entered through the doorway and found herself smiling at the sight that greeted her. There were papers strewn across Luke's bed, and in the middle of it all they were fast asleep. Luke lay on his back with his arm curled around Grace, who was snuggled up against his chest. It was possibly the cutest thing she had ever seen.

She hurried back downstairs and motioned Adam, Judith, and her mother to follow her back upstairs. They looked at her in confusion, but followed her anyway. She motioned for them to be quiet and led them to her discovery.

"Aww," Judith cooed upon seeing them curled up together. Joan glanced over at her mother, realizing that she might not exactly approve.

"I guess they fell asleep working on their project," Joan whispered to her, hoping she wouldn't be upset.

Helen only smiled and, after a moment more of watching her son sleeping so peacefully with his girlfriend, ushered everyone out of the room.

"Should I call her father to tell him she's staying over?" Helen wondered out loud once they were downstairs. Joan gaped at her in shock, certainly not expecting that.

"She used to crash over at my place all the time," Adam told Helen. "He probably won't even notice."

Joan noticed the bitterness in her boyfriend's tone, and instinctively knew it had nothing to do with jealously over her getting to spend the night.

Helen didn't quite know what to do with that information, so instead of responding, she offered to let the other two to stay over. Joan's eyes lit up at this and Helen laughed.

"You guys can stake out the living room," she turned to Judith. "I'm counting on you to keep those two out of trouble."

"Mom!" Joan exclaimed as her mother winked at Judith.

"Sure thing Mrs. G," Judith responded.

"I'll go make the phone calls," Helen announced and left them to set up the living room to sleep in.

* * *

Grace groggily awoke to find herself feeling the most rested she had been in a while. She kept her eyes closed, and just relished feeling so relaxed. She couldn't place what it was that was so warm and comfy that she was curled up against at first, but as she breathed in the unique scent, recognition swept over her. Her eyes opened and her suspicions were confirmed. She was lying in Luke's bed, wrapped up in his arms with papers scattered on the bed around them. 

Slowly she lifted her head off his chest and propped herself up on her arm so that she could look at him. She silently studied him for a few moments, a soft smile playing on her lips. She almost didn't want to wake him; he looked so peaceful. She loved how he could look so sweet and boyish, yet so kissable at the same time.

Inching herself up closer to his face, she softly kissed his slightly parted lips. He stirred in his sleep, his hand clenching and unclenching around her waist. She experimentally sucked on his lower lip lightly. He moaned softly and shifted closer to her. She pulled back slightly to look at him again and traced his jaw line with her fingertips. She knew he was close to waking up when his eyelids fluttered. She lowered her lips to his one last time and let them linger there until he began to respond. She then pulled back to see his bright blue eyes looking up at her.

"Hey," Grace said quietly with a small smile.

"Hey," Luke responded sleepily.

"I think we fell asleep last night. How come no one woke us up?"

"I don't know," Luke responded, sitting up. "Let's go see."

"Think I could at least brush my teeth?" Grace asked, standing up to stretch. Luke was momentarily distracted by the flash of skin he was greeted with when her shirt rode up. He gave himself a mental shake and tried to focus on what she had asked.

"Uh, sure," he said before leading the way to the bathroom. He searched through the cabinet above the sink for a minute before producing a brand new toothbrush. He offered it to Grace, who took it gladly. He grabbed his own and they brushed their teeth side by side.

"Minty fresh," Luke commented when they finished. Grace smirked at him before pulling him in to give him a minty kiss. With a giggle she backed away, keeping her arms around his neck.

"The better to kiss you with, my sweet," she said jokingly in a low voice.

"My sweet?" Luke repeated in amusement. She let go of him and gave him a sheepish shrug. As she walked past to head out of the bathroom, he grabbed her around the waist from behind.

"My sweet," he whispered in her ear. Grace shivered despite the unwanted sweet talk. "I kind of like it."

"I don't," Grace protested, scrunching her nose up in disgust. "I'm not a candy bar, dude."

Luke just chuckled and refused to let her go as she tried to walk out of the bathroom. He tightened his hold around her waist and nuzzled her neck with his nose. Grace was a little surprised at how cuddly Luke was daring to be with her. He used to be at least a little afraid of her, now he was risking calling her cute little names and snuggling up to her. Not that she would ever admit it, but she kind of liked it.

Between Grace trying to get out of the bathroom, and Luke trying to hold onto her, they ended up stumbling out the door into the hallway. Grace found herself giggling despite herself as Luke practically waddled behind her just so he could hold her. Suddenly Kevin wheeled out of his room in front of them. They both stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing him. Kevin arched a brow at them, and Luke dropped his arms from around Grace and stepped back away from her. Grace cleared her throat uncomfortably and muttered that they had to go and pointed vaguely in the direction of the stairs. Kevin only laughed and wheeled past them to go take a shower.

* * *

Soon after, Luke and Grace appeared in the doorway to the family room where Joan, Adam, and Judith sat watching cartoons. Joan looked up at the couple lingering in the doorway. 

"Hey guys," she greeted with a smirk. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Luke answered, having already gathered that everyone was quite aware Grace had spent the night in his bed. "We did."

"I'm sure," Joan answered back, smirk still in place. "Come watch brainless TV with us."

Grace and Luke looked at each other and shrugged as if to say "what the hell?". They went over to sit on the floor in front of the couch. Joan passed them the box of pop tarts and they each took one.

"Cartoons are just a government plot to brainwash kids minds," Grace ranted, munching on her pop tart. "The whole concept is to-"

"Grace!" Joan interrupted, annoyed. "Brainless TV watching. Means no thinky, no talky."

Grace just rolled her eyes and succumbed to the fascination of watching the coyote somehow continuously survive numerous explosions and falls.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks much to Sam for supplying me with the fabulous mall idea, betaing for me, and helping smooth out some problems had with Adam characterization.

* * *

Grace came home a couple hours later so that she could take a shower and change clothes. She had agreed to meet back up with the others so that they could all go out later on. 

The sight that greeted her as she passed by the family room shocked her. Her mother was drunk, which wasn't really an unusual sight. The unusual thing was that her father was in there with her, taking care of her. The Rabbi saw her in the door way and quickly stood and pulled her out into the hall.

"Grace," her father started, regret and sorrow evident in his tone. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said last week. I've been keeping her away from the liquor cabinet all week, but she slipped past me today."

"Gracie!" her mom called out as she peeked her head out of the family room. "Come sit with me and tell me **all **about this boyfriend of yours."

Grace flinched just thinking about the prospect about discussing Luke with her drunken mother. There was no doubt that in her inebriated state she would ask more personal questions than Grace was willing to answer.

"In a little bit, Mom," she replied, already backing towards the stairs. "I have to go get ready right now."

"Are you going somewhere tonight?" her father asked, more casually than she was used to.

"I thought you were taking care of her," Grace hissed at her father, not wanting to go through the whole guilt trip routine again.

"I am," her father assured her. "That's not why I was asking. I just… wanted to know."

Grace just nodded dumbly, confused by the sudden changes that were taking place. She then headed up the stairs, feeling for all the world like she had stepped into the twilight zone.

* * *

After Grace had showered and changed into some clean clothes, she blow-dried her hair. Which was in no way an attempt to fix up, she assured herself. It was just not practical to go out with soaking wet hair. 

She headed downstairs and was intercepted by her mother as she tried to sneak past the family room to escape out the door.

"Come sit with me for a minute, Gracie," her mother insisted, a slight slur to her voice. Grace reluctantly complied and took a seat next to her mother on the couch.

"So you have a boyfriend, huh?" her mom asked her, a big, goofy smile on her face. "I was beginning to think you might be a lesbian."

"Well, I'm not." Grace said through clenched teeth. It was one thing for a pig like Friedman to make dumb assumptions about her, but her own mother?

"I know, Gracie," her mom assured her, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "Its just that you never dress up, or wear any makeup…"

"I'm not into that stuff," Grace defended, pulling away from the patting hand.

"Tell me, is this boyfriend of yours cute?" her mom asked her in a whisper, acting like a gossiping schoolgirl.

Grace rolled her eyes and didn't answer.

"Its okay if he's not. Those kind of guys usually don't go for girls like you."

"Girls like me?" Grace repeated, giving her mom a hurt look.

"Guys like that usually go for the pretty, feminine girls," her mom rambled on, oblivious to how much her words were affecting her daughter. And as a drunk was apt to do, her train of thought went in a completely different direction. "Were you out all night with this boy?"

"Yes, mom," Grace admitted with a sigh. "We fell asleep working on a project."

"Working on a project?" her mom frowned in confusion. A smile spread across her face. "Alone in his room, am I right? My little Gracie is growing up so fast."

"Nothing happened," Grace told her quickly.

"He didn't try anything?" her mom asked in surprise.

"He's not like that," Grace defended; glad she could honestly say that her boyfriend wasn't a complete horn dog.

"Maybe he's just not that interested," her mom giggled drunkenly, obviously finding this funny. Grace didn't know why that comment stung so much, but it caused a pang deep inside of her. For such a strong-willed, outspoken girl, she had a lot of insecurities. It didn't help that her mom unwittingly stirred those in her a lot of the time when she went on one of her drunken ramblings.

"That's real nice, mom," Grace said, standing up. She suddenly felt very trapped and confined in her house. She needed to get out of there. "I have to go now."

With that she hurriedly headed for the door, grabbing her skateboard on the way.

* * *

Halfway on her way to the Girardi's, she stopped at a gas station to use the restroom. She was washing her hands when something reflected in the mirror caught her eye. It was one of those metal dispensers. Staring at it, she absently wiped her hands dry. Cautiously she approached it, seeing that it proclaimed above the coin slot that it was 75 cents. 

After staring for a few moments, she gave into her sudden curiosity and dug through her bag for change. She soon found three quarters and pushed them into the coin slot. With a turn of the metal knob, she was soon rewarded with a small, foil package. Her strange urge satisfied, she threw it in her bag and tried not to think about what she had just done.

But, as she left the gas station, all she could think about were the memories of kissing and waking up next to Luke, her mother's words, and the small package she had just bought.

* * *

Joan opened the door to find Grace standing there, skateboard in hand, and looking like she was deep in thought. Judith and Adam had yet to show up, and Joan held her hairbrush in her hand, still in the process of getting ready. 

"Hey Grace," she greeted, frowning at how distracted her friend seemed to be.

"Yeah," Grace replied absently, stepping into the house. "Your brother upstairs?"

"Whoa, déjà vu," Joan commented, remembering the last Saturday Grace had shown up like this. When Grace just stared at her blankly, she cleared her throat. "Yeah, he's up there."

Grace nodded as a way of thanks and headed up the stairs. Upon reaching his doorway, she found him sitting on his bed, working on the diagrams for their potential projects. He looked up as she entered, as if he had sensed her there. He gave her that lopsided half-smile that always made her pulse pound before going back to his drawing.

Grace remained rooted in her spot, taking him in. He was wearing khakis and one of his many short-sleeved, button up, plaid shirts. The top button was open so that she could see the little hollow between his collarbones. She had a sudden, strong urge to taste the skin there. A little surprised and freaked by her thoughts, she gulped.

Luke looked back up at her when he realized she hadn't moved, concerned. He put aside the diagram and moved over to her. He could practically feel the waves of confusion and nervousness rolling off of her.

"What's up?" he asked softly, laying a gentle hand on her arm. Grace suddenly got hit with the sense of déjà vu that Joan had mentioned before, yet at the same time marveling how much things had changed just within this last week.

"Nothing really, my mom just said some stuff. I had to get out of there," she responded, searching his eyes. He had told her he loved her, and she had told him the same. He hadn't mentioned it again, which she was sort of grateful for, but it was still so obviously there. And he was attracted to her…right?

Finding herself needing to know, she wrapped her arms around him suddenly and kissed him fiercely. He seemed surprised by her sudden assault, but returned the kiss just as intensely. She pulled back gasping for air and tried to assess his reaction. Pleased with the glazed look in his eyes, she quickly returned her lips to his.

Luke was a little thrown as the kisses grew more and more sensual, but wasn't about to complain. He was so wrapped up in kissing her, that he didn't notice as she started to unbutton his shirt. It was only when she laid her hands on his bare chest that he realized what she had done.

"What… what are you doing?" he managed to rasp out. She responded by pulling him in again and sucking on his lower lip. He groaned as she ran her tongue along his lip before opening her mouth against his again and stroking his tongue with hers. She gently pushed Luke backwards until his legs hit the end of his bed. He was so lost in her steamy kisses that he barely registered her pushing his shirt off all the way and pushing him back onto the bed.

It wasn't until he had a lapful of Grace and she was guiding his hands up her shirt that he realized how fast things were progressing past their normal make-out sessions. The sudden awareness of how desperate her actions seemed hit him like a bucket of cold water. He broke the kiss and withdrew his hands from under her shirt, startled to realize that he had been precariously close to feeling her up. She protested immediately, guiding his hands back underneath her shirt as she moved to lick at that enticing little hollow she had been admiring before. Luke yanked back a bit more forcibly than the first time.

"Grace, what are you…" he cut himself off as she reached behind him and into her bag. He looked at her questioningly as she pushed something small and foil wrapped into his hand. He dared to look down to find himself holding a condom. Lubricated, it proclaimed across the front. Shock and disbelief written across his features, he looked back up at her. She was watching him intently, biting her lip and looking quite uncertain.

The full meaning of the situation finally clicking in Luke's mind, he grabbed her by the waist and all but tossed her off of him and onto the bed. Grace sat frozen on the bed, startled by Luke's unexpected roughness, as she watched him pull on his shirt. Tears stung in her eyes, threatening to escape. Maybe her mother was right after all; maybe he didn't find her attractive at all.

"You don't want me," she stated in a small voice, hugging her legs to her chest. Luke looked back at her. He had never heard her sound so vulnerable before.

"That's not it," he told her, sitting back on the bed. He looked her over, temptation to do exactly what she had been asking for still at the forefront of his mind. "At all. Trust me."

Grace looked over at him to catch him looking at her almost longingly. She felt a thrill at his obvious desire for her that was present in his now dark blue eyes.

"Then why…?" She asked, confused to why he hadn't just gone for it.

"You were upset because of your mom," Luke told her, looking her in the eye. "You aren't ready."

Grace knew he was right; she hadn't exactly been doing it for the right reasons. She decided to take offense anyway.

"How DARE you!" She found herself shouting at him, jumping up from the bed in outrage. "How dare you tell me what I am and am not ready for?"

"Grace," Luke said quietly as he stood as well. He cautiously wrapped an arm around her and led her back to the bed to sit. She seemed to kind of deflate at his touch. She knew yelling at him was just misplacing her anger. "What exactly did your mom say to you?"

"She assumes I sleep around or something. Not that she cares or anything," Grace told him bitterly, staring at his floor so that she didn't have to look him in the eye. "She thought we were, you know. When I told her we weren't she said that it was because no guy could find ME attractive."

Luke moved closer to her and brushed her hair away from her neck.

"That's not true," he told her firmly. He leaned in and kissed her neck before continuing. "You're beautiful," he stroked her cheek with his other hand and leaned in to whisper, "and I love you."

Grace turned to give him a sweet, heartfelt kiss, one that was nothing like the heady kisses they had shared only minutes ago.

"And when we're both ready," he continued after they pulled back. "I would most certainly want to make love to you."

Grace blushed slightly, embarrassed yet intrigued by his low husky voice. It was times like this that she could swear that he was years older. She should have known she was done in from the first time she saw the intelligent, handsome, and gentle man that lay beneath the awkward, geeky teen exterior.

She wanted to tell him that she couldn't imagining that happening with anyone but him; that she could never even picture being with anyone else the way she was with him. But she didn't have his way with words, or the courage to let him know she'd even thought about their future. So she simply kissed him again, all her worries about her mom that she had come over with melting away.

* * *

Grace went downstairs when Joan called up to them to get their butts down there. Luke had told her to go on down and he'd be right behind her. When she told Joan this, she rolled her eyes and went upstairs with the full intention of dragging her brother out herself. 

Joan walked through the doorway, arms crossed.

"C'mon Luke, we're gonna go do fun stuff now," she told him. When he didn't budge she commanded, " Drop the science stuff, geek, you're coming with me."

"Yeah, just a minute," Luke told her distractedly. Joan huffed, uncrossing her arms as she glanced around the room. Her eyes fell on something sitting on his desk. She walked over and picked it up, examining it. Panic gripped her as she turned towards her brother.

"Luke…"

Luke heard the serious tone her voice had taken on and looked up. He saw her standing there with the condom Grace had left there, looking at him questioningly. He gulped, unsure of what to tell his big sister. He decided against saying anything and grabbed it out of her hands, tossing it swiftly into his underwear drawer.

"You didn't see that," a no arguments tone clear in his voice.

"Yes I did!" Joan proclaimed loudly. "Why do you have that? Grace is going to flip!"

"She knows I have it," Luke said casually as he returned to his diagram. He should have known that she wouldn't let it go.

"She does?" Joan asked, looking at him in disbelief. "You bought a condom, Grace knows this, and you're still alive to tell the tale?"

"Little louder, please," Luke told her sarcastically. "I didn't buy it."

"Are you telling me Grace bought it?" Joan persisted, not believing that story for one second.

"I'm not telling you anything," Luke informed her stubbornly. Irritated, Joan stomped out of the room. Luke let out a huge sigh of relief upon her exit.

* * *

Grace didn't know what hit her when suddenly Joan stormed down the stairs and yanked her by the arm into the garage. 

"Did you buy that condom in Luke's room?" Joan asked, straight to the point. Grace gaped at her for a moment before her mouth snapped closed and she flushed brightly. She shifted uncomfortably and looked at the floor.

"You did!" Joan exclaimed in surprise. Grace looked extremely flustered as Joan started to sputter. "You were gonna 'do the do' with my brother!"

"I don't think the whole neighborhood quite heard you," Grace muttered sarcastically. "I don't see how this is any of your business."

"You're my best friend; he's my brother. How is that NOT my business?"

"You were going to do it with Rove," Grace pointed out, finally looking Joan in he eye. Joan opened her mouth to retort, but had nothing to say back to that.

"Well, okay," Joan admitted defeat, running a hand through her hair. "I would ask if you love him, but I already know that you do. And I would say be careful, but I saw the condom, so I know you will be. I guess all that's left is… have fun? Oh, ew, not that either. Okay, Just never ever let me catch you doing…" Joan visibly shuddered. "…that."

"Right," Grace said, amused. "Coz I'm itching to have you see me like that."

With a roll of her eyes Joan said," Well, now that that's settled, I want to never think about this again."

"Exactly my thinking, Girardi."

* * *

When Grace and Joan came back from their discussion in the garage, Luke was finally present downstairs, sitting quietly with Adam and Judith as they talked. Luke's eyes immediately lit up upon Grace's entrance into the room, and he sat up straighter. Grace gave him a tiny smile; flattered by the way he always noticeably reacted to her presence. 

"So are we all ready to go to the mall?" Judith asked Joan, obviously growing impatient and needing a fix for her shopoholic tendencies.

Grace, Adam, and Luke collectively groaned.

"We're going to the mall?" Adam asked, giving his girlfriend an incredulous look.

"I am having terror filled flashbacks to middle school," Luke whined. At Grace's questioning look he told her, "She used to drag me to the mall when her friends couldn't go. She has an addiction. Its deadly."

"Shut up, dweeb brain," Joan said, whapping Luke in the arm with the back of her hand.

"The mall is the fiery pits of hell," Grace commented as Luke moved behind her for protection from his sister. "Rove and I even made a pact to never set foot in that corporate run, teeny bopper filled death trap."

"Oh come on you guys!" Joan pleaded. "We'll have so much fun!"

Judith nodded excitedly in agreement while the other three looked at Joan doubtfully.

"There's something for everyone," Judith insisted. "They have an art store, this place with really cool scientific gadgets, and even a couple of stores with shirts that have quirky little sarcastic phrases. You guys will love it!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Joan and Judith skipped joyfully through the entrance of the mall, while the other three friends cautiously stepped foot in the bright, people filled space. Grace took one look at the gum snapping, belly baring girls that passed them and attempted to make a run for it. Adam grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving. 

"No way Grace. If I have to suffer through this then so do you," Joan giggled madly ahead of them. "And, I am going to go try to keep my girlfriend from going off the deep end."

"You're too late," Grace said with a snort as Adam caught up with Joan and hooked his arm through his.

"Years too late," Luke agreed, gently placing a hand at the small of Grace's back as they went deeper into the so called pits of hell.

Judith and Joan squealed when they reached a DEB store and quickly made their way in. Adam reluctantly let Joan pull him in as well.

"He is so whipped," Grace commented, sadly shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, he loves her," Luke defended; the part about being whipped a sensitive subject for him.

Grace turned her attention away from observing the trio in the store when she heard the serious tone his voice had taken on. Glancing up at him, she was slightly startled to see that he was staring intently at her. Her expression, which had been expressing her doubt about the safeness of running around unprotected in the mall, softened as she took a moment to just silently look at him, her lips slightly curving up.

"Yeah, I suppose."

Breaking eye contact, she looked nervously around the mall again. "I'm telling you though, dude. There's something about this place. Gives me the creeps."

"Eh," Luke said with a shrug. "Not so bad once you get used to it."

Grace cast a doubtful look in his direction. Luke stepped in, closer then she was usually comfortable with in public.

"If you want, I can help you take your mind off it," he told her suggestively, hand moving to wrap around her waist. A bit flustered by his suggestion and nervous about the public display of affection, she pushed his arm off her.

"Dude! We're in public!" she whispered harshly.

"Photo booth," Luke pointed out, tilting his head towards the small little booth about twenty yards away. Glancing between the booth and Luke, Grace bit her lip in contemplation. With a sigh of resignation, she grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him over to the small booth. A quick glance around confirmed that they had not drawn attention to themselves, and Grace yanked the curtain back and shoved Luke in. Before Luke knew quite what had happened, Grace was attacking his lips with her own.

Luke desperately tried to hold onto Grace the best he could as they shifted about in the small space, trying to fit somewhat comfortably. When Grace slammed into the machine rather hard, Luke broke the kiss to sit in the bench. Coaxing Grace into his lap, he eagerly brought his lips back to hers.

After a moment a sudden, bright flash erupted in the booth. Startled, they looked towards the source of the interruption. It took Grace all of two seconds to realize where the flash had come from and start to squirm in Luke's lap in an attempt to escape. Realization swept over Luke and he stilled Grace with a laugh.

"I think you set off the camera," Luke said, stating the obvious.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Grace growled at him, frantically trying to wiggle free again.

"Grace, calm down," Luke said soothingly, trying to still her movements again. "You'd think someone was pointing a gun at you, not a machine taking your picture."

"Same difference!" Grace exclaimed just as the camera went off again. "Ack! Let me go!"

"We should just let it be," Luke suggested, when she started to relax beneath his fingers soothingly stroking her back. "Maybe even get a good picture or two out of it."

Grace resisted the urge to attempt to flee again to look at Luke like he had grown another head.

"C'mon," Luke prodded, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, facing the camera. Grace was about ready to elbow him in the face in her desperation to get away, but caved when Luke laid a soft kiss on her neck. With a sigh, she leaned back into him stiffly and looked into the screen as another flash went off.

Turning her face so he could look in her eyes, Luke leaned his forehead against hers.

"See, not so bad."

Feeling a sense of comfort wash over her from the smile Luke gave her, Grace relaxed completely against him and smiled back. Barely aware of another flash, they giggled quietly together at the humor of the situation. After a moment, they went silent, looking into each other's eyes. Luke slowly leaned in and softly touched their lips together. A final flash went off as their lips connected fully.

A whirring noise brought Grace back to her surroundings and she pulled away. With wide eyes, Grace scrambled out of Luke's lap. Poking her head out of the curtain, she quickly snatched the printouts from the tray.

"Just my luck, doubles," Grace commented, holding up the two strips. With a grin, Luke swiftly snatched one of the strips out of her hands and pocketed it.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Keeping them. For memories sake," he told her, smirking.

"Dude, no. We are going to burn them."

"Burn them?" Luke asked, looking rather crushed. "You're that opposed to having pictures of us?"

Looking at his crestfallen face made Grace instantly regret her gut-reaction freak out. He pulled the pictures back out and reluctantly moved to rip them. Grace shot out her hand, stilling his movement.

"Luke, no." The use of his name didn't go unnoticed as she folded his hand securely around the strip. "Keep it." She took a deep breath. "And I'll keep mine."

"Really?" Luke asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," She assured him, leaning forward to kiss him softly. "We should go back to find the others now."

* * *

"Hey, where did you guys run off to?" Joan asked as she came up behind Luke and Grace. They shared a secretive smile before allowing Joan to come in between them. 

"Geek Boy started warming up to the whole mall thing. Dragged me through some crazy shops." Grace covered, complete with an eye roll and an aggravated tone to make the story believable.

"Fun," Joan commented, clearly thinking otherwise. "Oh, Judith, we have to go into Claire's! C'mon Adam!"

"Looks like we're on our own again," Grace said with a sigh as the trio split ways again.

"We could always go back to the photo booth," Luke suggested playfully, eyebrows raised.

Grace gave him a mock annoyed glare and poked him in the stomach.

"Very funny, rocket boy."

"I thought so."

* * *

Grace threw her stuff down on the ground when she entered her room that night. With an exhausted sigh, she flopped down on the bed. Joan and Judith were like Energizer bunnies, running every which way in the mall for hours on end. Grace was slightly disappointed that Luke hadn't tried to convince her to go back to the photo booth. It had been hard to be close to him for so long without laying a few kisses on him. Thankfully they had managed to get some extra quality time together after arriving back at the Girardi's house. Grace was tired, but in a rare, giddy mood. 

She took her jacket off and hung it up on her bedpost. Thinking about the mall reminded her of the photo booth. And thinking of the photo booth led to the realization that she hadn't even seen the pictures that had been taken of her and Luke. She reached into her jacket's pockets and just as her hand hit the slides, the phone shrilled next to her.

"Grace?" a voice she recognized as her father's said after she picked up.

"Dad?" she asked in confusion. Hadn't he said he wouldn't be working late?

"I tried to call your cell phone earlier, but you didn't answer…"

A frown appearing on her face, Grace dug into her jackets pocket and pulled out her phone. It was off; the battery must have died when she was at the mall.

"What's going on?" Grace questioned, becoming increasingly concerned by the distress obvious in the rabbi's tone.

"It's your mother…"

* * *

A/N: Yeah, sorry guys. Had to leave you with a cliffhanger… 


	3. Chapter 3

Grace tapped her foot restlessly against the floor as she sat uncomfortably in the stiff, plastic chair. She hated this place, always had. She hated everything about it: the look, the feel, and the smell. Everything about the brightly lit hospital reminded her of death and destruction. It seemed that every time her world was falling apart she ended up here.

"I thought she had gone to the grocery store, so I went to the temple. Just for a little while," her father murmured in shock, breaking the silence that had surrounded them ever since Grace had arrived at the hospital. "I came home and she was just lying there…"

Grace's foot ceased its tapping and she turned her head to give him an unreadable look. "I know. I'm the one who found her all the times before, remember?"

The rabbi's eyes shone with regret and he reached out in hope of offering some kind of comfort for his daughter. As she shied away from him, he realized that he was years too late to fix the damage he had caused. All those nights that he tried to ignore his wife's problem, he had never given thought to what it was doing to his little girl. And now, he was left to regret every moment of it.

"I wish I could take all of this back," he told her softly. "Not being there for you when I should have. I should have seen how much it was hurting you."

Grace's expression became cold and hostile, something he had begun to recognize over the past few years. "Well, dad, you can't take it back. And you didn't see because you didn't _want_ to see. You just wanted to pretend everything was okay so that you didn't have to deal."

"Grace..."

"No!" she said loudly, standing up and drawing attention to them. "I have spent all of my life dealing with your shit so that you didn't have to. I am not going to tell you its all okay now so you can feel better. I think it's about time you face your mistakes."

The rabbi watched her turn to walk away, silenced for a moment in his shock.

"Where are you going?"

Grace stalled and glanced over her shoulder at him, "I'm going to the payphone to call Luke. My cell phone's battery is dead."

"Don't bring that boy into our business," he said sternly.

Grace turned all the way around to face her father, jaw clenching. Eyes starting to water, she said evenly through clenched teeth, "Fine. I'm going to get coffee."

Rabbi Polansky watched her stomp away with a sigh. It seemed the more he tried to mend the rift between them; the more she seemed to push him away. His gaze landed on the chair his daughter had just vacated. There was what appeared to be a strip of paper lying on the chair. Gingerly picking it up, he turned it over to reveal the pictures on it. Choosing to ignore a couple of rather intimate ones, he focused instead on the one of Grace and that Girardi boy with their foreheads pressed together and smiling wide at each other. He hadn't seen her that relaxed and happy in years.

Closing his eyes, the rabbi thought back to the tearful look Grace had given him when he had refused to let her seek out Luke. He had, yet again, only been thinking of himself. No wonder she was so angry with him. He hadn't even stopped for a moment to think of why she wanted Luke there. Grace wouldn't accept the rabbi's offer of comfort, but it didn't mean that she didn't need any. It scared him, but he could sense that his daughter _needed_ that boy. And it was about time that he gave his daughter what she needed. Determined, he went to the pay phone to make a call. As the phone rang, Rabbi Polansky felt that he was finally doing the right thing.

"Hello Mrs. Girardi, this is Rabbi Polansky. May I please speak with your son?"

* * *

When the rabbi returned to the waiting room, Grace was already sitting in the row of plastic chairs, sipping on her coffee. Even from a distance, he could tell she was still in a sour mood. He has a good feeling that she would be better soon, but he feared to face her rage in the moment.

She ignored him as he sat beside her. He even swore that maybe she inched away a little. Fingering the small strip of pictures in his jacket's pocket, he turned to face his daughter.

"I'm sorry, Gracie," the rabbi told her sincerely. "You were right, I have made mistakes. Too many." Looking momentarily behind Grace, he pulled the picture strip out of his pocket. "Its about time I start making up for them."

The rabbi pressed the strip of pictures into Grace's hand as Luke sat in the chair next to hers. Before Grace could open her hand to look at the pictures, she felt a gentle hand on her arm. Looking back over her shoulder, she was startled to find her boyfriend looking back at her with concern. She turned back to her father to give him a confused look.

"I am going to go check with the doctor again," he offered her a sad smile, knowing that his little girl no longer needed him to be the man in her life. Knowing that there would be no change in his wife's condition, but wanting to give the young couple some privacy, he walked down the hall to talk to the doctor.

"Luke," Grace said softly, turning to face the boy next to her as her father left. "You're… here."

Luke smiled slightly at her rare speechlessness. "Your father called and told me what had happened. Said he wanted me to come here."

Grace eyes became misty as she struggled not to cry in the middle of the waiting area. Luke, unsure of how she might react, slowly pulled her into a light hug. She gave him a light squeeze, but quickly pulled back, not about to breakdown in the middle of the waiting room. She stood abruptly, knowing he would follow as she searched out a secluded space. They reached an empty room nearby and Grace let Luke take her into his arms as she allowed herself to cry for the first time that night.

* * *

Rabbi Polansky sat numbly back into his chair. The doctor had given him even more disturbing news. The longer she remained unconscious, the less likely it was that she would wake up. Meaning a coma or possibly death, however it may turn out. The rabbi had never even considered that he might lose his wife tonight. He had never even considered that he might lose his wife that very night. The rabbi had never felt so lost in his life. Not only had he completely messed things up with his daughter, but also he might never see the woman he loved again.

The doctor had also mentioned the possibility of rehab if she did indeed wake up. He had said that she'd been lucky to even make it through the previous four incidents of alcohol poisoning. The rabbi couldn't believe it had really been that many times. And that through all of those times, his daughter had to find her mother like that and take charge in his absence. It made him wonder if he could ever really make it right with his daughter after abandoning her for so long.

It seemed she had found solace though, in the form of a young, skinny teen. She had been noticeably happier and more carefree in the time they had been together. Looking at them in the strip of photographs had been a painful reminder of Sarah and himself when they were younger. When he had been energized and enthusiastic and she had been happy and sober. They had been so in love and deeply connected, but somewhere along the way things had gotten so terribly out of control.

* * *

As it neared midnight and there was still no change in Sarah's condition, Rabbi Polansky insisted that Grace needed to leave the hospital and go get some sleep.

"But what if she wakes up?" Grace asked, fidgeting with Luke's hand in her own.

"I will let you know first thing in the morning."

"I don't want to be alone in the house," Grace argued back stubbornly.

"I know," the rabbi assured her. "Which is why I arranged to have you stay with the Girardi's tonight."

For the second time that night, Grace's eyes filled with gratitude as she nodded, accepting his offer.

* * *

Only Joan and Helen were awake when Luke and Grace arrived at the house. Both offered an extra sense of warmth and comfort that Grace secretly basked in. After Grace found something respectable of Joan's to wear to bed, Luke came into Joan's room to check on her. He had changed into his pajamas as well and looked especially snuggly. Unable to resist plaid-PJ pants-clad Luke, she immediately sank into his arms.

Joan wisely stayed away from her room, knowing the couple needed some privacy. They laid on Grace's cot in each other's arms for a long time, neither saying a word. Luke noticed Grace's eyelids started to droop after a while and convinced her to let him go up to his room so that they could both get some sleep. After getting up and grabbing something off the dresser, he placed a pink stuffed bunny on her stomach.

"For emergency cuddling," He told her with a lopsided smile. He kissed her forehead and pulled the covers up over her. "Good night."

"Night," Grace answered back as he headed for the door. Joan entered almost immediately after her brother left. She smiled at the sight of Grace fingering the rabbit's long ears.

"Wow," Joan said after she sat on her bed. "He let you have Bunny Foo Foo."

"Bunny Foo Foo?" Grace repeated, raising an eyebrow at the soft bunny that lay on her. "He bought a PINK stuffed bunny and named it Bunny Foo Foo? You people really ARE crazy."

"Well, actually that would be me," Joan admitted a bit sheepishly. Off of Grace's amused look she quickly added, "In my defense, I was three at the time."

Grace smiled at the mental image of a pudgy little blonde boy cuddling the bunny she now held. She gave Joan a questioning look, "You seemed surprised there for a minute, Girardi."

"Well yeah," Joan said with a chuckle, eyeing Grace closely. "I was the only one Luke ever let within a two foot radius of that thing. And that's only because I gave it to him."

Grace smiled affectionately at the bunny, and gave it a little pat on the head. She wasn't planning on actually getting cuddly with a stuffed toy, but she was touched by the gesture of Luke giving it to her for the night.

"He really cares about you," Joan informed her, watching closely for a reaction. Grace only continued to fidget with the bunny. "I'm surprised I didn't have to physically drag him out of here."

Grace yawned loudly, "Sleep calls, dude. We'll just have to save this conversation until a never time. G'night."

Joan rolled her eyes as her friend burrowed down into the covers and shut her eyes.

"Good night," Joan answered back as she switched the light off.

* * *

The next morning, Luke awoke to feeling way warmer and cozier then he had been when he went to bed the night before. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to find Bunny Foo Foo lying on his chest. Lifting his head slightly, he could see an arm that lay over him and the bunny. Upon trying to shift his position, he found that a leg was hooked over his as well. Turning his head to the side, he found himself face to face with a sleeping Grace. Gently moving her leg off of him, he turned on his side to face her.

Softly stroking her face with his fingertips, he savored the feeling of waking up next to her. The second time his fingers passed over her cheek, she let out a quiet snort in her sleep. He bit his lip to keep from chuckling and hoped she would never know he was thinking about how cute she was. Maybe it was a little weird that he liked the fact that she would kill him for thinking about her that way, but that was part of the Grace package. He loved the aggressive rebel girl as much as he loved the more tender side that came out sometimes when they were alone.

Silently watching her peacefully sleeping, Luke wished that he would never have to wake her. Just as he had the thought, Joan came bounding into the room at full speed. _So much for that wish_…

"Knew she'd be up here," She commented with a smirk. "Mom's making pancakes, you guys should come down."

Grace stirred in her sleep and Luke sternly motioned Joan to quiet down. Joan rolled her eyes as Luke studied his girlfriend, trying to figure out how he should wake her.

"Luke, its not rocket science, you just gotta wake her up."

Another silencing glare had Joan rolling her eyes again and heading back downstairs.

Luke went back to softly stroking Grace's face after Joan had left the room, contemplating on how to wake her. He already knew that she was not a morning person in the slightest, so it would be the lesser of evils to wake her pleasantly. Remembering waking to the feel of her lips on his the morning before gave him an idea. Leaning in with a smile, he started to kiss on her neck.

As he started getting more into it, with a nibble here and there and sucking lightly on her skin, Grace's eyes fluttered open. Quickly realizing what was going on, her hand that had been curled up in front of her moved to rest on his neck, urging him on. Noticing the movement, Luke moved back to quirk a grin at her.

"Good morning, Miss in-my-bed."

"You didn't seem to mind the other night," she commented with a raise of her eyebrow. "Or earlier this morning."

"Earlier this morning…?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah, I came up here cause I couldn't sleep," she informed him. "You were all… mumbling in your sleep and nuzzling up to me like a little puppy."

"I was mumbling?" Luke asked, looking slightly alarmed. "What did I say?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just something about …smelling good," Grace told him dismissively. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "And you were feeling… _around_…"

Luke gaped at her horrified as she continued, "And you… totally don't get that I am joking, do ya?"

Grace laughed at the relieved look that passed over Luke's face and gave him a tiny, playful shove.

"You are too easy, rocket boy."

"That wasn't very nice," He told her solemnly, giving her the big, sweet puppy eyes that she really, really hated. He looked all boyish and cute with those wide blue eyes, and it made her want to do ridiculously girlish things. It was a streak of true evil in him, she was sure of it. She gave him her best you-will-die-now glare, determined to defeat the dreaded puppy eyes. Ignoring her attempt to disarm him, he only made it worse by pouting slightly at her.

The evil puppy eyes lethally combined with the slight jutting out of his lower lip finally did her in and she let out a whimper of protest. Luke tried hard not to grin as she gave him a look of apology. He accepted her soft 'make-up' kiss and pulled back to smirk at her.

She instantly glared at him and smacked him in the chest, "I HATE that."

"Only cause you love it so much," he told her with a smirk.

"Dude, that didn't even make sense," Grace teased, giving him a light poke in the stomach.

"Oh, you're awake," Joan's voice carried over to the couple that lay grinning at each other. They turned towards her as she continued. "C'mon, its food people! Shouldn't that have you jumping out of bed?"

"Food?" Grace sat up lightening fast. She looked at Luke in amazement. "And you failed to tell me this why?"

"I-" was all Luke managed to say before Grace was out of the bed and halfway down the stairs.

"Girl's gotta eat," Joan told him with a smirk before following Grace out.

* * *

By the time Luke had made it downstairs, the girls were already well into their pancakes. Joan gave him a grin as she snatched some of the remaining few that had been obviously set-aside for him.

"Joan," Helen reprimanded, pointing the spatula at her daughter.

"What?" Joan asked, mouth full of stolen pancakes, innocent look on full force.

Luke looked down at his wimpy two-pancake plate and gave his mom the hurt little boy eyes, hoping she would do something.

"I already made all of the batch," Helen told him apologetically.

Joan smirked at him, "You snooze you lose, dork."

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Luke commented, "I thought it was teenage _boys_ who ate like pigs."

"I am not a pig," Joan mumbled between gulps of her orange juice.

Grace raised her eyebrows at her friend, yet again amazed at how mean she could be to her little brother. Luke sat down to grumpily pick at his soggy pancakes as the phone began to shrill.

"I got it!" Joan exclaimed, managing to nearly knock everyone's meals onto the floor in her rush for the phone. "Hello? Hi…Mr. Polanski."

Grace paused mid chew and slowly rose from her chair. Reluctantly taking the phone from Joan, Grace put the receiver to her ear.

Luke watched intently as Grace talked on the phone. She didn't look too upset, so he assumed there was no more bad news.

Grace hung up and headed back to the table, where everyone sat quietly, trying not to stare at her.

"My mom woke up late last night," she informed them. "She's going to be fine. I am just going to go meet them at the house."

"Well, that's good!" Joan piped up cheerfully, sensing that her friend wasn't exactly relieved by the news. Grace said a quick goodbye and grabbed her bag, attempting a swift exit. Luke reacted immediately, jumping up and chasing after her.

Joan's eyes strayed over to the remaining pancakes left on Luke's plate.

"Don't even think about it," Helen told her sternly. Joan pouted slightly and slumped down in her chair.

* * *

"Grace," Luke called out as he caught Grace's elbow before she could open the front door. She turned to face him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Its just… nothing is going to change. So, she made it through this time, good for her. But what about next time? Because, believe me, there is going to be a next time."

"I'm sorry," Luke told her softly. "But you are right… nothing has changed. You still have me."

"Getting a little mushy, Girardi," Grace warned, fighting off the smile that wanted to appear due to his sweet nature.

Choosing not to push the issue, Luke told her, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bio closet, 7:30, you better be there on time, dork."

"If I recall correctly I am not the one who is usually late and blames it on 'not being a morning person'."

Grace looked semi annoyed and about to comment, so Luke leaned in and placed a firm kiss square on her lips to silence her.

"I'll see you then."

"Bye, dude," she told him as she turned the doorknob, smirking at his diversion tactics.

* * *

Luke was pleased to find Grace already waiting for him in the biology closet when he got there at 7:30 sharp. He sat down across from her and gave her a smile in greeting. She gave him a tiny smile back, which seemed a bit forced. He looked at her questioningly.

"After I got home yesterday, my dad told me the big news," Grace started after a moment. "He had my mom put in rehab."

"Really?" Luke asked, surprised. "Is that… a bad thing?"

"Well, no," Grace admitted with a sigh. "Just kind of caught me off guard I suppose. I'm trying not to hope for too much. I mean, there's a huge possibility that it won't help."

"But its something," Luke pointed out, laying a comforting hand on her leg.

"Yeah," Grace agreed, setting her notebook aside and enjoying the feel of Luke gently rubbing her leg. They sat like that for a moment, just enjoying each others company. Grace gave him a little smirk.

"I saw your away message last night. I can't believe you let your sister drag you off on one of her crazy endeavors."

"Yeah, well," Luke said with a sigh, "you were gone and I had nothing better to do."

"That's kind of pathetic," Grace teased, giving him a soft kiss to let him know she was kidding.

"Yeah, what can I say, I don't know what to do without 'my sweet'," Luke joked, giving her a grin.

"Dude-" Luke cut off her remark with a deep kiss. Several minutes passed before Luke pulled back to quirk a grin at her.

"What were you saying?"

"I… was saying something?" Grace asked, looking at him dazedly.

Luke chuckled and gave her a fond look before leaning back in to use their make out time wisely.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yes, finally a new chapter! I am hoping to get the next one out much sooner. Thanks to Sam for, some time long ago, suggesting the science fair project to me. Also for betaing for me at like 3 am.

Read. Enjoy. Be kind, review. Might be good motivation to get that next chapter out :p

* * *

Grace entered the biology closet to meet up with Luke that Friday afternoon. He grinned at her once she sat down and immediately leaned in for a quick kiss. Grace blinked at him after he pulled back

"What was that for?"

"I need a reason now?" Luke asked her with a smile, lightly stroking her arm with his fingers.

"No, your hormones are reason enough," she confirmed, causing him to smirk a little before leaning in to kiss her again. After savoring the feel of his lips for a few short seconds, she pulled back and leaned into him. "So, when is the science fair? Shouldn't we be starting on our project soon?"

"Oh, that," Luke said, rubbing the back off his head. "I already made plans for the fuel cell powered model car that we had talked about as one of our options."

She gave him a small frown, "You decided _and _started without me?"

"Grace, the science fair is tomorrow."

"What?" she asked in surprise, sitting up so that she was no longer leaned up against him. She gave him a confused look. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you had enough to worry about," Luke told her with a shrug. He reached out to lightly run his hand down her arm. "Besides, based on past experience, I didn't think you would care too much."

Grace shrugged and didn't resist as Luke moved so that he could put an arm around her.

"Somehow I doubt either of our parents are going to be too keen on letting us pull an all niter this time around."

Luke laughed, and pulled her closer. "I can always work on it alone."

"No way, dude," Grace told him, "You're not going to build cool toys without me."

"Guess we're going to have to talk our parents into it…"

---

"You want our permission to spend the night with your girlfriend?" Helen asked her youngest son in disbelief.

"That means 'no way in hell'," Kevin supplied as he rolled past the table towards the refrigerator. Luke glanced back at his brother before returning to giving his parents a pleading look.

"Yes, spending the night in the _garage_ to work on a science fair project. Which needs to be done tomorrow."

"I wouldn't let him be alone with science and Grace," Joan warned as she joined Kevin in raiding the cabinets. "Those are like his biggest turn ons."

Helen and Will shared a concerned look as Luke shot a glare at his older sister.

"We did the same exact thing last year," Luke reminded his parents, an edge of frustration in his voice.

"Last year you guys weren't groping each other as an extracurricular activity," Joan commented with a smirk.

"Joan!" Luke exclaimed, flushing at all the attention directed at him.

"She has a point, honey," Helen said, her voice filled with a twinge of her remaining southern twang. "It just wouldn't be appropriate for us to let you spend a night alone together now that your relationship has changed."

"I still feel the same way about her as I did then," Luke said with aggravation, not really realizing what he was saying. Joan and Kevin smirked at each other and Helen was fighting a smile down as Luke blushed bright red. Trying to brush off the embarrassment he changed angles, "We have a lot to do on this project. And Grace will be disappointed if I have to do it without her."

"Well, what does her father think about this?" Will asked, knowing what his own feelings about _his_ daughter spending the night with a boy… over his dead body.

Luke shrugged, "She's probably discussing it with him now."

---

"But, Dad, we did it last year!" Grace practically yelled to her father.

"Last year I didn't think I had to worry about what could happen to my only daughter alone with a boy all night," the Rabbi answered, giving her a look.

"Dad, what exactly are you implying?"

---

"Helen, they are going to be doing something school related," Will argued, having decided to take Luke's side in the matter.

"Before or after they go at it on the table?" Joan asked teasingly, knowing she was only making Helen uneasier about the whole thing.

"There will be no 'going at it'," Luke insisted, adjusting his glasses. "Joan is just obsessed with accusing people of looking at porn and having sex."

"Am not!" Joan didn't hesitate to shout over her shoulder as she ventured out to the family room.

"We've been planning this for weeks and now its all going to be screwed up because Joan can't keep her mouth shut. Great," Luke mumbled, defeated. He slouched back in his chair and pouted like a sullen little boy.

Helen sighed, "Okay, let me present an idea."

Luke sat up in his chair, and grinned, "Anything."

"Joan stays with you two through the night."

"What?" Luke exclaimed, in shock as the same time as Joan from the other room. Joan appeared in the doorway seconds later.

"You have to be joking. You want me to sit around and watch them have science sex all night?"

"Science sex?" Kevin questioned with a laugh.

"You know, like Bring It On. Except instead of cheer sex, science sex."

Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'll let you test run our project if you'll stop making crazy accusations."

"Something in your underwear drawer upstairs tells me they aren't so crazy," Joan pointed out with a raise of her eyebrow. Luke's cheeks reddened and he stood.

"Just forget it. I'm going to go call Grace."

Joan's guilty conscience kicked in and she stopped him. "Chill out, geek. I'll do it. Maybe I can invite Adam too. It'll be like a… science party."

Joan scrunched her nose up, appalled she had even said that. The siblings turned to their parents, wearing identical pleading expressions, waiting for the verdict. Will and Helen glanced at each other.

"I'll call Mr. Polansky," Helen relented with a sigh, earning a cheer from both Luke and Joan.

---

"Why did I agree to this?" Grace asked Luke as Joan set up the numerous snacks and refreshments on the table and rambled on about something to Adam.

"Well, you said you were all excited to play with the finished product," Luke answered, giving her a lopsided smile. "But I think you just missed me this past week."

"Oh really?" Grace said, amused. "Lucky for me, mind reading isn't one of your special talents."

"Why is that?" Luke asked with amusement, enjoying the playful banter.

"Because you'd be all crushed when you found out I'm only in it for the toys," she replied with a smirk.

Luke gave her a mock sad look, "And here I thought it was for the food."

"That too."

They grinned at each other, happy to finally get to spend some time together. Grace had been busy helping her father with getting her mom situated in rehab and adjusting to life without her mom in the house. They had tried to meet in the biology closet as usual, but Friday had been the only day that it had actually happened.

"So, what are you guys building?" Joan asked, breaking into their little world.

Luke shook his head as if to clear his head from the daze that Grace tended to put him in. "A model car that is powered by fuel cells. See, a reversible fuel cell works to perform electrolysis as well as to create energy. The electricity required to activate electrolysis is created with a large solar cell. During electrolysis, water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen and the resulting energy is stored as a gas. When needed, the gas is fed into the fuel cell, which then serves as the power source."

Joan stared at him blankly, having no idea what he had just said.

"You couldn't just have said a model car that moves?"

"Cha, he wouldn't be Luke without the confusing explanations," Adam informed her helpfully.

"I understood just fine," Grace told them, amused.

"That's because he's rubbing off on you," Joan said with an eye-roll. "Its scary, really."

"I think it's hot," Luke commented offhandedly as he pulled out his plans and spread them across the table. Grace gave him a fairly hard nudge and cleared her throat.

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

Grace shook her head, having a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

---

"Joan!" Luke yelled for the tenth time in the hour that had passed when his sister knocked over most of the supplies on the table. Again.

"Dude!" Grace exclaimed, already moving to pick up the mess. "You need to come with a warning label or something."

Joan made a face at her friend and helped pick the supplies up. Once everything was back in order she moved to go back to working on piecing the solar panel together. Luke shot out his arm and blocked her.

"No, you are banned to the chairs," he informed her, pointing a finger towards the plastic chairs, where Adam was already seated, working on a sketch of the unfinished boat. Joan pouted and looked to Grace for salvation. She only raised her eyebrows and gestured towards the chairs.

Joan grumbled and plopped down next to her boyfriend.

---

Around midnight, Joan was absorbed in a book and Adam was finishing up his sketch. Luke was sweating because of his deep concentration as he prepared to solder on the electronic parts. Grace looked up from putting the protective covering together and saw what he was about to do.

"Hold it right there, Geek," she said, gently taking the soldering iron away from him. "Unless you have had some good soldering lessons and got steadier hands since last time we did this, you're not touching the solder equipment."

Joan looked up from her book and snickered at Luke. "Your girlfriend has to do it for you, that's sad."

"Hey, rocket boy came up with all the plans and supplies," Grace quickly defended her boyfriend. "Pretty much all I'm good for."

"Not all," Luke whispered to her as he handed off the electronic parts, making her flustered enough to spill several of the small parts on the table.

Adam looked up to see the exchange and watched them thoughtfully for a moment. Ditching his boat sketch, he flipped to a blank page.

---

At 2 A.M., Grace watched with amusement as Luke carefully put the finishing touch on their model car and let out a sound she had dubbed as a squeak of geeker joy.

"Don't get too excited yet, Girardi," She told him with a smirk, leaning against the table next to him. "Still need to test it."

Luke gave her his lopsided grin that always made her stomach flip flop. "I think we should stick to our promise and let Joan test it. At the fair."

Grace smirked. Knowing his sisters knack for humiliating herself, it would be something worth seeing. She glanced back at Adam and Joan and noticed for the first time that they had moved to sitting on some cushions against the wall and were fast asleep.

"Lightweights," she commented to Luke, turning back to him.

"We should probably move into the family room," Luke suggested, as he pondered the comfortableness of a cushion and a wall.

"Right."

Luke went over to the couple passed out on the cushions and carefully picked up his sister. Grace raised her eyebrows, surprised that he hadn't just woken her up and that he was apparently stronger than he looked.

"It's better than waking her up, trust me," Luke told her as he passed her to take Joan inside the house.

"Well, Rove, if you think you're getting the same treatment, you're dead wrong," Grace informed the sleeping boy as she grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him to his feet. Adam woke up once he was upright and looked disoriented at waking up in such an odd position.

"You have the strangest way of waking people up," he told her sleepily. "Luke get this treatment too?"

"I'm me, this you know," she smirked a little. "And I found a new method with the geek."

"Sick, I don't think I want to know," Adam said, his nose scrunching up.

"Probably not. Now get your ass in the living room."

"Yes ma'am," Adam replied as he absently grabbed his bag and trudged into the house. Once they reached the living room, he yawned, squeezed himself into the recliner with Joan, and promptly fell asleep.

Grace shook her head in amusement as Luke placed a blanket over the two.

"Want to watch a movie?" Luke asked, tugging the edge of the blanket over his sister's shoulder before turning to face his girlfriend.

"Sure," Grace replied, lying down on the couch so that her head was propped up by the armrest. Luke put The Matrix in the DVD player for them to watch. The FBI warnings came up on the screen as Luke contemplated where he should sit.

"C'mere," Grace prodded, tilting her head towards the small space of couch in front of her and effectively solving his dilemma. Grace shifted to her side to give him room as he lay down next to her.

Five minutes into the movie, Luke felt Grace's arm wrapping around him from behind and her chin resting against his neck and knew that there was no way he was going to be able to innocently lay there and watch a movie. Smiling to himself, he turned to face her.

"Hi," she said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Not up to action and awesome visual effects?"

"You're much more interesting," he told her, inching in for a kiss.

"Mmmm," Grace hummed before pushing him back. She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Your sister and Rove are right next to us. Your parents are just a hallway and a flight of stairs away."

"They're all asleep," Luke pointed out, leaning in again.

"But," Luke's lips brushed hers. "What if." Their lips met again. "Someone wakes up and…" Luke pressed his lips more firmly against hers. She pulled back and sucked in a deep breath. "We really shouldn't."

"Since when do you do what you 'should' do?" he challenged. Before Grace could settle on a response, he slid his hand up under her shirt to touch her back and sucked her lower lip into his mouth. Unable to resist any longer, Grace pulled him closer and moved her lips against his.

---

Adam woke up in the morning to the pleasant feel of a small, warm body curled up to his and warm breath on his neck. He looked over to see Joan laying next to him on the recliner. He smiled fondly at the sight of her resting her head on his shoulder, her mouth slightly open as she slept. He carefully slid out of the recliner, so not to wake up his slumbering girlfriend, and stretched out his cramped muscles. He looked over at the couch to see Luke and Grace sound asleep on the couch. They lay face to face, their noses touching. Luke's arm was rested over Graces waist, and she had her arms curled up against his chest. Adam cleared his throat uncomfortably and adjusted his beanie.

Not wanting to disturb them, he simply wrote a note and placed it next to Joan. He softly kissed her forehead before shouldering his bag and silently leaving.

Joan's eyes fluttered, having been woken by the kiss. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up, stretching. She noticed the note as it fell into her lap.

_Jane,_

Didn't want to wake anyone. You looked peaceful. I promised my dad I'd be back first thing in the morning. Hope you don't mind me bailing on the fair. See you later.

Love, Adam

Smile playing at her lips, she got up and hurried upstairs so that she could have first dibs on the shower. She almost ran into her mother, who was coming down to check on the kids.

"Oh, mom," she called out before her mom walked in on the scene in the living room. "Don't be upset with them. They didn't have wild, kinky sex or anything. Adam and I would have noticed."

With that, Joan bounded happily up the stairs towards the bathroom. Helen stared after her, frowning slightly. She walked into the living room and spotted the couple on the couch. She noticed the way their legs were entangled and how Luke's hand was halfway under Grace's shirt and shook her head in slight disappointment.

She went over to wake them, and considered giving them a piece of her mind. She smiled softly as Luke burrowed into Grace's embrace when she tried to lightly shake him awake and decided against giving them a hard time before their big event. There was always time later on, after all.

---

The science fair was buzzing with students and teachers milling about trying to get all the projects in order. Grace propped up her and Luke's poster board on their table as he set up their car on the ground in front of it.

"When did all the parts and junk turn into that?" Joan asked as she looked the car over. "How'd I miss that part?"

"Could be because you were splayed out on Rove and snoring," Grace remarked, smirking when Joan flushed a little.

"I never got to test it," Joan said, disappointed look on her face.

"We're going to let you do the presentation run," Luke told her, handing her a small remote. "That controls the wheels."

"Awesome," Joan exclaimed, grinning. Her expression suddenly turned worried. "I have no idea how to work it."

"You just pour water in this tube here," Luke informed her, pointing to the tube in question. "And then you steer it with the remote."

Luke moved over to the poster board when the judges came over to see the presentation. He gave them a quick explanation of how the car worked and then nodded to Joan to give them an example. Joan fumbled with the model, pouring water down its tube as she was told.

Grace drifted over next to Luke and whispered, "Did you tell her she has to take the wheel locks off?"

"Oops," Luke said with a smile, just as Joan figured out where the switch was and turned on the car.

Joan shrieked as the car took off and she attempted to turn the wheels with the remote and found no result.

"Luke! I think its defective!" She shouted, giving up on the remote and rushing over to where Luke and Grace stood, both trying hard not to laugh.

Chaos broke out as teachers and students jumped out of the way of the car as it moved rapidly across the floor. It knocked over and ran through several projects before crashing into the wall. Joan winced, and turned to give Luke an apologetic look. He didn't look mad, though, just like he was about to burst out laughing at any given moment.

"There's a wheel lock that you have to release," Luke told her, eyes dancing with amusement. "Did I forget to mention that?"

Grace lost her battle against the laughter and snorted before dissolving into giggles. Joan looked over at her, and then back at Luke, who was starting to laugh as well.

"You did that on purpose!" She whined. She smacked Luke on the arm, and glared at him. After a moment she shrugged. "Well, I guess it's your own fault that it's ruined then."

Luke shook his head and told the judges, "That was a test of its durability. Now for a test of how it runs."

Luke collected the model from where it had crashed and brought it back over. He unlocked the wheels and handed the remote off to Grace.

"Show them how it's done, sweet," he said with a grin, knowing she didn't like his new favorite pet name. At all.

Giving him a dirty look, she took the remote from him and turned on the car. Showing off, she had it do several fancy spins before ending with a screeching halt. She felt the urge to bow as the judges clapped, impressed. Instead she just smiled smugly and gave Luke a love-nudge in the ribs.

"Definitely in it for the toys."

Luke shook his head, amused before reaching out to take the remote back.

Grace pushed him away. "I have one more 'trick'."

Grace re-filled the water tank and sent the car speeding off, weaving through the people.

Gavin Price's eyes widened as a mini car that came up to about his knees came rushing at him, full speed. Realizing that it wasn't going to stop, he gave chase. Grace laughed as she made the car follow Price all around the room and, finally, out the door. She went to pick up the car while Luke gathered everything else so that they could make a quick exit.

"Hey, don't you have to stay to see how you did?" Joan asked as they rushed past her.

Grace turned so that she was walking backwards and facing Joan." That's what you're here for, Girardi."

Joan scowled as the couple left and Price cautiously re-entered, not looking very pleased at all.

"Ms. Girardi," he stated sternly, coming to stand in front of her. She winced and inwardly planned two blonde teens painful deaths.


End file.
